Frank Farian (1941 - 2024)

German singer and producer died in Miami last week. A man responsible for a huge string of hits. Songs I hated one by one at the time but are etched in my brain. From 'Rocky' to 'Daddy Cool' and 'Ma Baker', etc., etc., they are there and I can't get rid of them.

Everybody knows the story of Boney M and Milli Vanilli, so I'm not going to repeat them. In 2024 I have to admit that a lot of Boney M hits are a lot cleverer than I gave them credit for in the 1970s. What I will share with you is an anecdote. Something my now well grown up son started on when we saw each other today as well.

In 2005 we were on holiday in the Czech Republic. Having come out of the High Tatras in Slovakia we were somewhere in the east of the Czech Republic, close to the border. Eating a pizza in the very empty village square. While we had set ourselves down and had ordered I noticed that the same song played again and then again and again. It was Boney M's 'Rasputin'. The waiters did not speak a single word across their border and even pointing to the music's source did not help. The only other people eating pizza were another Dutch family. We found they had no ear for music as they hadn't noticed it at all.

We had finished our meal and paid. On leaving the restaurant I heard them stop the music and put on something else. 'Rasputin' for over an hour has something comical but is also extremely challenging I can tell you.

On hearing of Farian's death, my son played 'Rasputin' and concluded the song is a perfect history lesson. More artists ought to be so accurate, he noted. People may actually learn something from music.

Wout de Natris

Melanie (1947 - 2024)

Singer and songwriter Melanie Safka died last week. An artist that I hadn't heard anything new from since maybe 1980, when she was announced in a popular TV show in NL with her new single. I vaguely remember being surprised because I liked it. I did not undertake any action concerning the song or album. If something was uncool in 1980, it was Melanie.

In all the items I saw on the news or in writing on the news of her passing, I noticed that she was considered flower power and associated with wearing flowers in your hair. She had performed at Woodstock in the summer of 1969. I wasn't aware of Woodstock until probably four years later when a friend had the famous triple album. Melanie was not on that album, not in the movie I saw years later, so I was surprised to read she played at Woodstock in 2024.

Melanie and I do go back to 1969, when she entered the Top 40 in the fall of 1969. 'Beautiful People' was a song I may not have appreciated at the time as I've started to do more and more and more over the decades since 1969. If I remember anything from then, it was the surprise of that voice. It had nothing to do with the young woman Melanie was at the time. Looking back, seeing it as the female equivalent of Bob Dylan is justified.

Listening today, I notice that 'Beautiful People' is such a rich song. Lyrically Melanie touches on the differences between people in many layers. The way she wants to bring them together still rings true today. The way she laughs in between some lines! Musically there's so much going on in the song. I still haven't really figured out what chords are played, she extends lines like Bob Dylan in his most famous songs. Instruments that take a run in between. The changes in pace are magnificent. The thousand different sounds going on in the background create an alternate universe. For a first hit single, this is nearly unsurpassed. Did I hear all this in 1969? Of course not. I have no clue when I really started to appreciate 'Beautiful People'. Most likely somewhere in the 1970s on a cassette tape. I have heard it somewhere late in 2023, the Top 2000 perhaps and knew once again how great it is.

The one I play most is Melanie's only number 1 single in NL (and the Edwin Hawkins Singers second and final) 'Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)'. This gospel song is not as musically rich as 'Beautiful People', but superb in melody with a glorious chorus. With the choir behind her the sky is conquered. Inspired by her show at Woodstock, Melanie wrote the ultimate peace song. If only the world got together to sing this song, all wars would stop. The era of Aquarius had come to a ferocious end at Altamont in 1969, but not for Melanie. She put a flower in her hair once more and wrote and released one of the best songs of the 1970s. 'Lay Down' puts a smile on my face every time I hear it and is a song which I am truly grateful for for knowing. So let me thank Melanie posthumously here for her song.

In NL she scored two more hits. In 1970 'Stop! I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore', a single I did buy at the time. With the choir singing Latin at the start of the b-side 'Peace Will Come'. The A side, is another very strong song. A flute is all through it. It has a little of the MASH theme song, I notice in 2024, also from 1970. The marching rhythm in the chorus sets the song apart from most others.

Something I could not explain and still can't, is how I got to know one of her other famous songs, 'Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma'. It wasn't a hit but it is a song I could sing along to with ease, when I bought the 'Candles In The Rain' second hand some years ago. It must have been played on the radio a lot of the time any way. Just like her version of 'Ruby Tuesday'.

Her final hit, 'Brand New Key' from 1972 appears to be her most popular song on Spotify, by far I notice, but one that did not touch me at all at the time. Listening to it now for the occasion, I notice how I'm reminded of 'Big Yellow Taxi'. I'm referring back to the start. That is her best song, not my favourite though.

1972. That's 52 years ago. 52 years that Melanie did not reach me with new music and still she'll be with me till the end of my days. If I run into another second hand album from around 1970, I will get it and discover if there's more to like. I'm sure there is.

Wout de Natris

P.S. 'Peace Will Come' was her fifth hit single here I found after checking.

Erinyes. Alderson

De Belgische muzikante Nel Ponsaers levert als Alderson een bijzonder mooi, maar ook avontuurlijk debuutalbum af, waarop beeldende klanken worden gecombineerd met een mooie en gevoelige stem.

Voor aanstekelijke popsongs ben je bij Alderson aan het verkeerde adres, maar liefhebbers van stemmige en fantasierijke klanken en een mooie stem zijn bij het project van de Antwerpse muzikante Nel Ponsaers aan het juiste adres. Haar debuutalbum Erinyes is relatief sober ingekleurd, maar er gebeurt echt van alles in de muziek op het album. Dat geldt ook voor de zang,  die aan de ene kant ingetogen en gevoelig is, maar aan de andere kant ook steeds de juiste snaar weet te raken. Erinyes is een album vol beeldende en bezwerende kracht en naarmate je het album vaker hoort wordt het alleen maar beter. Alderson is een enorme aanwinst voor de Belgische popmuziek.

Alderson is de artiestennaam van de Belgische muzikante Nel Ponsaers, die deze week prachtig debuteert met haar debuutalbum Erinyes. Het is een naam die ik volgens mij nog niet eerder ben tegengekomen, maar de muzikante uit Antwerpen is al enige tijd actief in de muziekscene van de stad, onder andere bij The Golden Glows en Stef Kamil Carlens, en probeert het nu solo. Een solocarrière lijkt me zeer kansrijk, want als Alderson heeft Nel Ponsaers een mooi en onderscheidend debuutalbum afgeleverd. Het is een album waarvan de basis twee jaar geleden al werd opgenomen, maar dat de afgelopen tijd nog wat is opgepoetst. En met resultaat, want Erinyes klinkt echt prachtig.

Het is een album dat om meerdere reden makkelijk overtuigt. Om te beginnen beschikt Nel Ponsaers over een mooie en aangename stem. Het is een stem die de ruimte op prachtige wijze vult, maar de Belgische muzikante zingt ook met veel gevoel en precisie. De zang op Erinyes is over het algemeen zacht, maar het debuutalbum van Alderson is zeker niet het zoveelste album dit jaar met standaard fluistervocalen. Wat ik persoonlijk erg mooi vind aan het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit Antwerpen is dat ze haar stem gedoseerd inzet. Erinyes is een ruimtelijk klinkend album en Nel Ponsaers vult lang niet alle ruimte in met haar stem, wat Erinyes voorziet van een bijzonder geluid. Ze zet haar stem bovendien veelzijdig in, want de zang op het album varieert van gesproken woord tot fluisterzachte zang tot veel expressievere zang.

De diversiteit in de zang hoor je terug in de muziek op het debuutalbum van Alderson. Nel Ponsaers en haar medemuzikanten kiezen over het algemeen genomen voor een behoorlijk ingetogen en sober of zelfs minimalistisch geluid, maar de klanken op het album zijn wel zeer gevarieerd. Er zijn flink wat instrumenten ingezet voor de inkleuring van de fraaie en vaak relatief lange songs op Erinyes, waaronder bijzondere instrumenten als de mellotron, de zingende zaag, het klokkenspel, de bouzouki, die fraai samenvloeien met de basis van gitaar, piano, bas, drums en synths. Bijdragen van cello en viool maken het rijke geluid op Erinyes compleet.

Nel Ponsaers koos voor de inkleuring van haar debuutalbum voor een aantal gelouterde muzikanten uit de Belgische muziekscene, wat een wonderschoon en avontuurlijk geluid oplevert. Alderson kiest vaak voor stemmige klanken die soms klassiek aandoen en soms atmosferisch klinken, maar heel af en toe ontspoort de muziek ook, wat het album voorziet van veel dynamiek, die overigens ook heel subtiel kan zijn. De bijzondere instrumentatie krijgt dankzij de gedoseerde zang alle ruimte, waardoor de songs op Erinyes een beeldend of zelfs hypnotiserend karakter krijgen.

De Belgische muzikante heeft voor haar debuutalbum een aantal net wat toegankelijkere songs geschreven, maar ook een aantal songs die wat verder zijn afgedreven van de popsong met een kop en een staart. Beide soorten songs weten vrij makkelijk te overtuigen omdat ze stuk voor stuk de fantasie prikkelen en zonder uitzondering wonderschoon zijn. Het zijn persoonlijke songs, die dankzij de zang intiem klinken.

Ik lees in Nederland nog niet heel veel over het debuutalbum van Alderson, maar in een jaar waarin de vrouwelijke muzikanten in Nederland tekenen voor een substantieel aantal jaarlijstjesalbums, doen ook onze zuiderburen een fraaie duit in het zakje. onder andere dankzij het prachtige debuutalbum van Alderson.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt Erinyes hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://aldersonmusic.bandcamp.com/album/erinyes

The Great Vacation. Johan

A week ago I wrote that where alternative pop is concerned there's Johan and then the rest, a pack possibly led by The Maureens, based on the band's beautiful new album 'Everyone Smiles'. The question is whether this still rings true. The Great Vacation definitely is not an album that I'd identify as a Johan album, except that Jacco de Greeuw's voice gives the band away immediately.

The singles, 'Cincinnati', up front indicated a change of direction already. Totally new elements to Johan's music and a few very recognisable sequences. My first listening session confirmed my ambivalent feelings towards The Great Vacation, based on two singles. The question was what happens after multiple listening sessions?

Johan is around since 1996, when its debut album was released. With long pauses new albums were released, with number 2, 'Pergola', as my absolute favourite. (This will probably never change.) After a more than 10 years hiatus the band returned in the late 10s with 'Pull Up' and six years down the road with The Great Vacation.

"It's time for change", De Greeuw sings in 'Time For Change' and lives up to it, without burning his bridges. The more I listen to The Great Vacation the more Johan bits fall into place and I start liking the album more and more. The feeling I'm left with, is that De Greeuw has given up searching for the perfect alternative pop song and found other avenues instead, enriching Johan's music no little. See the more alternative parts in 'Cincinnati' or the way the band rocks in a more direct way, like in 'Fly On The Wall'. Don't forget noticing the poppy organ bits in the song.

Promo photo: Han Ernest

A third conclusion I arrive at, is that Johan is not out to, primarily, please. A little more darkness is let into the music, giving depth to several of the new songs. Lead guitarist Robin Berlijn has that light and shade in his style of playing underscoring Jacco de Greeuw's singing. Without doing anything extremely radical, Johan has reinvented itself in a very successful way. The band sounds refreshed and new, next to decidedly older, where the lead vocals are concerned. This definitely is next level Johan.

Something new is always scary. It seems like the worse thing that could happen to fans of a band with a long legacy, is having to listen to new songs and especially live. Johan decided not to care, jump the line (and not hold it!) and hopefully will play a lot of the songs on their upcoming tour. If The Great Vacation keeps growing as it did in the past weeks, it is going to be a favourite album. Of 2024 and of Johan and I did not see that coming after the first singles and listening session.

Wout de Natris

You can order the album here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/johan-the-great-vacation

2024, week 4. 10 singles

Week 4, the flu got to me, so I keep it short. Enjoy!

Rewind. Rosali

How did a 11 year old Italo disco song wind up in this list?, I was wondering to myself, only to notice that I had typed Rosalie in my overview. Lucky for me and Rosali (Middleman) I noticed my mistake, searched again and found a very nice alternative folk, pop song. The execution of the music moves towards slacker, with a singer that winds herself around the music, bringing it together as truly hers. The video shows a very unhappy woman in a record store. If Rewind is as a promise for her upcoming album 'Bite Down' (22 March), then a trip to a store like that is recommended, lifting her mood immediately. The band accompanying Rosali, is almost wild and certainly considering the music. An electric guitar refuses to be contained. Rosali undertakes a valiant attempt, succeeds for a while before the song goes off into the wild. To me Rosali is a new name, but what an introduction.

The Crater. Office Dog

Have we musically visited New Zealand already this year? If not, Office Dog makes up for the omission. The Crater is a tough song in the mid tempo range, with a heavy guitar and a very present bass and drums. The Flying Nun band released its album 'Spiel' already last year down under. The global release was this weekend. Single The Crater released to celebrate and announce it. The singer sings with a slightly dreamy voice, almost detonating with the tough guitar(s). It's all over before 2.30 minutes. The ride up there is good to follow. You will have heard this kind of song before, but who cares when it comes this nice. In the fall the band was on this blog with the single 'Big Air' in a very positive way. I missed the album though. It looks like it's time to check it out.

Natural Magick. Kula Shaker

'Hush', 'Tattva' and all the other hits from around 1996 (was it?) will never be surpassed. The Indian sphere around the band worked for a short time and then it was all over. What happened after 1998, I have no clue. The band disbanded and was never heard from again by me, until I saw this single in the side line Google presents as suggestions. Four middle-aged men rocking out, with a lot of Indian and psychedelics in the video. Natural Magick at a minimum is able to create that vibe of enthusiasm the early singles had. That is the positive news on Kula Shaker. The song could have been a minute shorter, that is certainly true. That said, this is a nice re-acquaintance. So, welcome to the blog Kula Shaker. (I checked to be sure and then noticed how many times I've referenced the band over the years. That tells you something alright.)

Lego Ring. Faye Webster (ft. Lil Yachty)

If 'Natural Magick' wetted your psychedelic appetite, then you are at the right place here. Expect jumping off the deep end though. Faye Webster and her guest Lil Yachty play a game, in the music video within a music game. Lego Ring really shoots into all sorts of directions without ever losing control. The tempo goes up and down. Webster sings and Yachty sings with an autotune (enriching that Dutch engineer a little more). Thus Lego Ring moves between a ballad and a rocksong the whole of the time. Mixing delicacy with full force on and off. It works though. Lego Ring is a rich song, in which several ideas come together and different decades of music. It all blends into a modern kind of ballad and an alternative rock song, not forgetting the dance like deep synth sounds in between. Fascinating I opt to call it.

A Minute To Breathe. Wes Hoffman and Friends

Wes Hoffman and Friends is a band from St. Louis and is around since 2017. Since the pandemic it is travelling up and down the Mid West and hoping to break out further soon. This has to happen on the back of the band's first full length album 'How It Should Be', slated for this winter. A Minute To Breathe is the first single from that album. Expect a punkrock storm that starts at 0.00 and ends at 2.37 minutes. Loads of energy, fast paced drumming, distorted guitars, a driving bass and a tough voice singing about "why are we waiting for tomorrow, when we're living today". An important lesson in life, all have to learn and Wes Hoffman and Friends are teaching it to all who care to listen. Note the female voice on the song, which is a nice decoration in between the raging punkrockers.

Peace Sign. Ride

 

 

 "Give me a peace sign". Here you are. Have your pick.

Elvis Is Alive. The Crayon Set

A dark song about a dark topic. Elvis Is Alive and living as a demented 89 year old on a smaller Hawaiian island, next to an 80 year old Jim Morrison. Something like that. The Crayon Set takes on conspiracy topics one by one, all accompanied by a sad tune. Things are not well in The Crayon Set's realm and be warned, you can fall off a flat Earth. Read Terry Pratchett if you don't believe me. They all sound so familiar, the theories the band almost talks me through, somewhere between singing and talking. "The ozon is fine and the sea will never rise", you know what I mean. In the between the repeated verses, perhaps choruses, a sad, distorted violin or a slide guitar, I am not 100% certain, interrupts the singing. The biggest conspiracy theory is very personal: "and you are still mine", explaining the sadness. Yes, conspiracy theories can make one sad but not like when it becomes personal. Elvis Is Alive is just a way to express personal sadness.

Just Then. Dead Years

Some more punk rock from Germany. Not for the first time this year. Dead Years is a trio from Bielefeld in Germany and about to release its debut album called 'Night Thoughts'. Based on Just Then, expect rolling and pounding drums, a tight rhythm guitar and a driving bass, together creating a lot of energy. Also expect two singers, alternating the lead vocals. A female and a male voice, giving the song two very distinct flavours. Just Then starts with a relatively long intro. So long in fact, that I started to think I'd be reviewing an instrumental punkrocking song. Just under one minute Julia starts singing. Followed later by either Hannes or Jonas. By then a modest storm has been unleashed on the listener. The trio has played in many other bands over the years. This has not taken anything away from the enthusiasm in which they approach Just Then. It sounds like a band of puppies going at it.

Pilgrimage. Elephant Stone

With the album almost around the corner, another single makes it to this blog. Pilgrimage is an almost jazzy outing. It is very easy to imagine one of the female jazz singers of old singing this song. In a slightly different arrangement of course. Elephant Stone is tremendously laidback here. The song seems to float ever so slowly down the totally flat river. A saxophone meanders through the whole of the song as a lead instrument, while the band pretends to be George Harrison, in The Beatles, in his most relaxed mode. Pilgrimage is the kind of song to close your eyes to and just go with its flow. As listener you can follow the bass, the sax, the vocals or the whole. All four will satisfy and relax you. And psychedelia? Search and you may find.

Reservoir. Brown Horse

In the end we go back to the beginning. Brown Horse is a new name to me. The band's single finds itself somewhere between country, americana, folk and singer-songwriter. I'm almost forgetting a rocking electric guitar. In short, this is a very interesting combination. Add a somewhat wining singer and you will have gathered that Reservoir is not your average song. To my surprise Brown Horse is not a U.S. band but hails from Norwich in the U.K. The song progresses ever so slowly but so much is happening, instruments pop up disappear or become prominent later on in the song. The song is intense, because of the way of singing and the slow way of playing. This band knows how to draw an effect from the listener. The bio calls the band a sensation. That is too early to concur with. I am attracted to the band and certainly want to hear more when the album's there.

Wout de Natris

 

Albion. Harp

Tien jaar geleden verliet Tim Smith zijn band Midlake, maar deze week keert hij eindelijk terug met zijn nieuwe project Harp, dat met Albion een prachtig klinkend en zeer sfeervol debuutalbum aflevert.

Het lijkt een eeuwigheid geleden dat Tim Smith aan de weg timmerde met zijn band Midlake. Het was lang stil rond de Texaanse muzikant, maar vanuit North Carolina keert hij nu dan eindelijk terug als Harp. Het debuutalbum van de band die hij samen met zijn vrouw vormt is hoorbaar met veel zorg gemaakt. De instrumentatie op het album klinkt zeer sfeervol en heeft hier en daar een wat dromerig karakter. Het past prachtig bij de bijzondere stem van Tim Smith, die de vroege albums van Midlake een flink stuk optilde. Ik moest heel even wennen aan de bijzondere combinatie van invloeden en de soms wat symfonisch aandoende klanken, maar inmiddels vind ik Albion van Harp een prachtalbum.

De Amerikaanse muzikant Tim Smith formeerde aan het begin van dit millennium de band Midlake. De band uit Denton, Texas, leverde na een heel behoorlijk debuutalbum met The Trials Of Van Occupanther uit 2006 en The Courage Of Others uit 2010 twee uitstekende albums af, waarop invloeden uit de Laurel Canyon folk centraal stonden. Tijdens de opnamen van het vierde album hield Tim Smith het voor gezien en werd het stil rond de Amerikaanse muzikant.

Na een wat weifelende herstart leverde Midlake vorig jaar met For The Sake Of Bethel Woods een prima album af, maar deze week laat ook Tim Smith eindelijk weer van zich horen. De Amerikaanse muzikant heeft Denton, Texas, inmiddels verruild voor Durham, North Carolina, en heeft daar de tijd genomen voor het debuutalbum van zijn project Harp. Met Albion heeft de Amerikaanse muzikant een uitstekend album afgeleverd, dat in bepaalde opzichten aan de vroege albums van Midlake doet denken, maar in een heleboel andere opzichten niet.

Albion opent met atmosferische synths, sfeervol fluitspel en fraaie gitaarlijnen. De instrumentale openingstrack schuurt wat tegen de progrock aan, maar bevat ook folky invloeden. Het is een mix van invloeden die terugkeert in veel tracks op het album. In de openingstrack moeten we het doen zonder de stem van Tim Smith, maar in de tweede track is er dan eindelijk weer die stem die de eerste albums van Midlake zo memorabel maakte. Het is een stem die nog mooier klinkt dan in mijn herinnering en die prachtig tot zijn recht komt in combinatie met de mooie en sfeervolle klanken.

Tim Smith vormt Harp samen met zijn vrouw Kathi Zung en de twee zoeken hun inspiratie wat mij betreft grotendeels in hetzelfde decennium als Midlake deed op haar meest succesvolle albums. Albion citeert niet of nauwelijks uit de archieven van de Laurel Canyon folk, maar heeft wat mij betreft ook niet vaak de 80s vibe die anderen er in horen (Tim Smith noemt Faith van The Cure overigens wel als belangrijke inspiratiebron).

Ik hoor vooral flarden van de progrock waar ik in de jaren 70 en 80 naar luisterde, herken af en toe wel wat van de softrock uit de jaren 70 en hoor ook absoluut invloeden uit de folkrock in de met veel zorg gemaakte en prachtig ingekleurde songs op het album. Door het laidback karakter van de muziek van Harp, de wat melancholische sfeer en de bijzonder mooie stem van Tim Smith doet Albion het wat later op de avond uitstekend, maar het debuutalbum van Harp verdient het om met volledige aandacht te worden beluisterd. Albion is met heel veel zorg gemaakt en dat hoor je vooral wanneer je het album met de koptelefoon beluistert en alle lagen in de muziek van Harp prachtig samenvloeien.

Tim Smith heeft zijn comeback wat onhandig gepland, want een album uitbrengen in de laatste weken van het jaar is bijna vragen om ondersneeuwen, maar Albion van Harp is echt veel te mooi om onder te sneeuwen. Na de eerste keer horen was ik, na heel even wennen, diep onder de indruk van het debuutalbum van Harp, hierna was ik even bang dat ik snel zou zijn uitgekeken op de sfeervolle klanken, maar inmiddels heb ik alle songs op het album omarmd en is de comeback van Tim Smith er een die ik koester. Meer dan tien jaar geleden maakte hij met Midlake twee grootse albums, maar hij kan het nog steeds.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt het album hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://harpband.bandcamp.com/album/albion

Big Sigh. Marika Hackman

Marika Hackman so far has always been a just-not-for-me artist. I never knew how to find my way into her songs. They never stuck. In 2024 this changed. First with the singles released in the past months and now with the, well most of the album. The first song is not for me. The rest is (very much) alright.

In the bio it says that Marika Hackman decided to change her approach to her music. It seems that explains why Big Sigh resonates deeply in me. Can I explain the change rationally? No, music is emotion and that is present in abundance on Big Sigh.

The album has a huge sound. The mix is as dense as it is wide. Music and instruments are literally everywhere I listen. Her voice seems to be everywhere on the record. There's no hiding nor necessity to do so. Everything is spot on. The monumental sound is part of the attraction of Big Sigh. Wait, before you go wrong. This album is not one big, monolith of sound nor consisting solely of big rock songs. Marika Hackman knows how to use dynamics, how to make a song swell and back down. Neither is she afraid to totally wind the music down. This is another part of Big Sigh's attraction.

Take 'Blood'. The song is small at the outside, atmospheric and mysterious. Is there anything lurking in the background? What instrument will pop up? When is the song going to explode? I won't give it away. Do listen to it yourself. Even in its initial smallness 'Blood' has a big sound in the way it is mixed. Next, things even get smaller, musically and smaller still. My impression does not. Marika Hackman is in charge and winning (and does not forget the dynamics).

A solo piano song comes by, 'The Lonely House'. Not breaking but heightening the mood. Next, we move into electronics with the moody, slow 'Vitamins'. Again, the sound is so wide while music and atmospherics are everywhere. Again, I'm impressed with what I hear. It is like as if I want to look behind the music I'm hearing. As if a secret is kept there, almost within reach.

In 'Slime' the rock elements in Marika Hackman's music returns. Drums, bass, guitars are back in the mix. She sounds seductive, not necessarily as if the person she's luring towards her will come away unscathed. Like I already wrote, there's a lot of mystery involved on Big Sigh.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Big Sigh here:

https://marikahackman.bandcamp.com/album/big-sigh-3

Out Of Sight. Haze

With Out Of Sight Haze has released its second album, for me personally the first. A few weeks ago single 'Hiding' made it to the weekly singles post of this blog and wetted my appetite for the album. I was not disappointed in the slightest. Haze has released an album that is a joy to listen to.

Haze is Mirabelle van de Put from Belgium. She started her solo project Haze to step out of her comfort zone and explore where her vision and imagination would take her. On her second album as Haze she takes it all one step further and experiments with sounds and soundscapes, besides the organic instruments you hear on Out Of Sight.

If anything, the references I have to her music are with triphop. I am reminded of the Portishead albums and the Massive (attack) songs I know. Things Haze only start there. A significant part of this music is mystery. Most of the songs bring to mind a dream with a sense of being lost and really not knowing where you are; without navigation. While at the same time being reminded that things are not what they seem. Strange sounds and noises keep coming at me and an ominous atmosphere pulls at me from all sides.

At the same time all is beautiful. The way the guitars as it were move between the atmospherics, the way the drums truly are a combination of the center that keeps it together and sounds that seem just to float around. Jakob Nachtergaele really deserves a mention here. His soft drumming adds so much to the whole Out Of Sight is. No matter how ominous the atmosphere seems to me, in my mind I lay myself down on the soft flowing music and let myself float with it, totally trusting Haze to bring me back safely.

Liking Out Of Sight does surprise me. I wasn't one for triphop and this album reminds me why. Haze combines the electronics with "real" music. The song is the starting point, not the experimentation in sound. Take the dark guitar solo in 'Hiding' and the solo notes played in the interlude. With Van der Put's bass and the drums, 'Hiding' becomes the most dreamy rock song I've ever heard. In 'Roger' an Air like mood is created, but again an organic version. This way Haze comes close to the Gainsbourg-Doillon clan. She certainly is gaining on Charlotte and can set her sight on Lou.

Mirabelle van der Put and Stijn Vanmarsenille, the man she calls her soundwizard, created all the sounds together, producer Frederik Segers took care of the sound quality. Between them they did a great job. It is totally evident that Haze can go with the best of them. Out Of Sight is an album that surprised me. From the second listen session I knew this was an album for me, giving it the benefit of the doubt because of 'Hiding'. The effort of listening once more paid off. What a nice album.

Wout de Natris

Saviors. Green Day

The album opens with 'The American Dream Is Killing Me'. Is this it, I thought?  I'm definitely disappointed. The song doesn't sound good and haven't we heard this kind of melody and the message before, about 20 years ago?

Thirty years after 'Dookie' and 'Basket Case', the song that changed their lives, Green Day is a huge band of course, easily filling very large venues and packing festivals as headliner. The downside of heaving such a large legacy, is that most old fans are not interested in new songs and newer fans become fans mostly because of the old songs they heard at their parents' homes and on whatever medium they listen music to today.

Should this observation ring true, it'd be a huge shame, because Saviors is strong and varied album. Billie Joe, Mike and Tré are in great form and dare to show a few sides to their musical game, With Saviors Green Day moves beyond the punkrock and finds itself in pop territory as well. Ever so smooth. Who would have thought. There's no excuse like "we play the acoustic guitar in a very punky way", like Billie Joe Armstrong said years ago after releasing 'Good Riddance'. 

Pop was always present in the music of Green Day. A good punkrock song can be a perfect popsong as well, as Green Day's biggest hits show. People want to be able to sing along to a good song and Green Day has plenty of them. Go through the 16 songs on Saviors and you will find so many of them. The band had to make amends from a string of (somewhat) weaker albums of the past decade. With its new album it does.

So, Green Day shows it pop side more. I am taking you to the title song, hidden at the near end of the album. This is pure pop music, but then, The rhythm section totally goes for it. Tré Cool is ramming his skins as if there's no tomorrow. There's so much power in his playing turning a pop song into a punkrock song by sheer will. Mike Dirnt's bass does his characteristic moves between solid rhythm and playing all these melodies and echoing the guitars in the breaks. I know, this is standard procedure for most bassists, but when Dirnt does it, a song can become a monster with ease. Billie Joe Armstrong only has to lay down a few guitars and the song is there. 'Saviors' is a great song added to the Green Day oeuvre.

In the last song 'Fancy Sauce' things even get cheesy and even with that Green Day gets away. In the fourteen songs before these two the band had made its point more than convincingly. Green Day had the inspiration to make a great album and then did. Saviors is up with the best of them.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Saviours here:

https://greendayofficial.bandcamp.com/album/saviors

Shirley Hurt. Shirley Hurt

Het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt is inmiddels een jaar oud, maar krijgt nog een nieuwe kans en daar valt niet op af te dingen, want wat is het debuut van de Canadese muzikante een mooi en bijzonder klinkend album.

Ik ging er vanwege een aantal nieuwe recensies van uit dat het titelloze debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt een gloednieuw album was, maar het blijkt al een jaar oud. Het is echter de hoogste tijd dat het debuutalbum van het alter ego van de Canadese muzikante Sophia Ruby Katz aandacht gaat trekken, want het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt is echt prachtig. Het is de verdienste van de mooie songs en de al even mooie muziek op het album, maar het is vooral de prachtige en ook nog eens bijzondere stem van Sophia Ruby Katz, die het album ver boven het maaiveld uit tilt. Ik was direct onder de indruk van dit mooie album en het wordt echt alleen maar beter.

De Britse muziektijdschriften Mojo en Uncut besteden in hun januarinummer aandacht aan het titelloze debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt. Ik ging er eerlijk gezegd van uit dat het een release uit 2024 betrof, maar het album bleek al te vinden op de streaming media diensten. Daar staat het overigens al sinds afgelopen zomer, waardoor de timing van de gerenommeerde Britse muziektijdschriften op zijn minst bijzonder is.

Toen ik het album vervolgens opzocht op bandcamp zag ik dat het album precies een jaar geleden al is verschenen, wat de plotselinge aandacht voor het album nog wat opmerkelijker maakt. Kennelijk wilde het tot dusver niet echt lukken met het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt, maar ik begreep direct waarom haar platenmaatschappij het blijft proberen met het album en begreep ook direct waarom Mojo en Uncut zo enthousiast zijn over het album.

Shirley Hurt is een project van een Canadese singer-songwriter over wie ik niet heel veel kan vertellen. Ik weet dat haar echte naam Sophia Ruby Katz is en dat ze uit Toronto komt, maar verder zal de muziek op het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt moeten spreken. Dat doet deze muziek verrassend makkelijk, want het debuutalbum van de Canadese muzikante wist mij binnen een paar noten te betoveren en is dat hierna blijven doen.

Dat is voor een belangrijk deel de verdienste van de stem van Sophia Ruby Katz. Het is een warme en wat dromerige stem, maar de Canadese muzikante beschikt ook over een zeer karakteristiek geluid. Het doet me af en toe denken aan de stem van Beth Orton, maar dat is een vergelijking die maar tijdelijk op gaat, al is het maar omdat de Canadese muzikante zowel de hogere als de lagere regionen kan opzoeken met haar stem.

De stem van Sophia Ruby Katz doet het uitstekend in het wat folky getinte materiaal op het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt, maar ook als het album wat opschuift richting jazz of pop slaagt de muzikante uit Toronto er in om indruk te maken met haar even aangename als karakteristieke stemgeluid.

Het is in eerste instantie vooral de zang die indruk maakt bij beluistering bij het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt, maar het album heeft meer te bieden. Sophia Ruby Katz laat zich op het debuutalbum van haar project begeleiden door een aantal mij onbekende muzikanten, die zorgen voor een mooi sfeervol en warm geluid. Het is een grotendeels organisch geluid met de akoestische gitaar en piano als basis en bijdragen van onder andere saxofoon, fluit en keyboards als fraaie versiersels.

De combinatie van de warme klanken en de bijzondere zang maken het debuutalbum van Shirley Hurt zeer geschikt voor koude winteravonden, maar ik kan me goed voorstellen dat het album het ook uitstekend doet op lome zomeravonden, wat de release pogingen in december en juli ondersteunt.

Het debuutalbum Shirley Hurt overtuigde me zoals gezegd onmiddellijk, maar het is ook een groeialbum. Sophia Ruby Katz overtuigt makkelijk met haar prachtige stem en de mooie klanken op het album, maar ze schrijft ook uitstekende songs, die zich in meerdere genres bewegen en die, ondanks het feit dat ze niet altijd kiezen voor de makkelijkste weg, buitengewoon lekker in het gehoor liggen. Ik begrijp er echt helemaal niets van dat dit album zo lang is blijven liggen, want ach wat is dit mooi.

Erwin Zijleman 

Je kunt Shirley Hurt hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://shirleyhurt.bandcamp.com/album/shirley-hurt

Inside Out & Backwards. The Incurables

The Incurables are almost around for longer than its members can remember. Despite this lengthy band existence this is the band's first full-length album. The Incurables are four friends who make music together when they can and have the greatest fun doing so. The enjoyment of making music together is showing all through the ten songs. Don't think for a second that quality is not an important issue for the band. The ten songs compete with the best in the garagepunk sector around.

In The Netherlands there is a tv show called 'The Battle of the Bands'. Cover bands, some around for years, some created for this show in the hope of winning the jackpot, compete to play in the largest venue bar stadiums of our country. This season, the third, there's a CCR cover band called 'Fortunate Sons'. The way they play the CCR songs, straightforward with no thrills of any kind, reminds me The Incurables.

The Incurables play their own songs but all straightforward without thrills and pills. The Detroit band plays like the first conveyor belt of the Ford Company ran in 1913. Things go forward without stopping and the band members add their part to become a whole. The energy is at a high level with no one stopping for a single second.

The opening song, 'When I Grow Up', can be seen as the mission statement of The Incurables. The title tells all. It's like my late dad told me decades ago, "are you still playing music"? Until he saw me play with the band one day and had to admit that my erstwhile band was pretty good. I can imagine the dads of this band saying the same thing decades ago and receiving an answer in 2024 in the form of this song. The only answer possible. Do what you like to do is what gets us through life a lot more pleasantly and making and listening to good music certainly contributes!

Press photo

For me this band comes out of nowhere. Yet instantly a connection was made. it only took a few songs to know that this is great fun and an album to listen to again and again (when the girlfriend is not at home, granted). Not because the album is extremely loud. Far from, it has to be played loud to make the best impression. This is when the energy it contains is released to the max. There's so much of it.

The drums and bass stay close together. The rhythm guitar closes all holes, the lead guitar jumps over the rest like in the child's game. And there are a lot of harmony vocals. Not of the intricate kind but effective ones, nailing the song. Ten songs long The Incurables=train runs down the track before it comes to a closure, until I put the album on again and chances are I will, often. This album and band took me by a very pleasant surprise.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Inside Out & Backwards here:

https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/inside-out-backwards

2023, Week 3. 10 singles

New names and old names, they all come by in this week's overview, including the comeback of a German postpunk icon from the early 80s, who is back with a new single. Welcome to the blog. At the time you nor I had heard of the word blog and if we used the word posting, it certainly had nothing to with a blogpost on the Internet. This set of new singles is a little less varied than usual. Purely coincidence, I promise. As you may recall, in general this is the order in which the songs are presented to me, bar the one's I do not like (enough) to invest time in. So, enjoy!

A Town Called Chapel. Leon Frear

"It's a big decision in a town called Malice", Paul Weller sang long, long ago. Come 2024 and we have moved to Chapel, dropped the almost irritating organ sound and the tempo. With his second single Leon Frear returns to WoNoBlog. The song has a dark overtone because of the way Frear sings. The clear and big drums sound points in another direction. There's not much darkness in the accompaniment at all. The instruments all sound so clear, it gives A Town Called Chapel an enormous spaciousness. As if I can drive a car in between them. 'Secret Second  Moon' landed well  a while back. With A Town Called Chapel my interest in the album, Wild Rice (1 March) is raised some more. In the end the song points to the fact that Leon Frear seems to want to leave for Malice, but is held back.

Fire. Marathon

When can a band call itself a veteran of this blog? I have no definitive answer to this question. Fact is, that Amsterdam's Marathon is around since, I think, it's first single. With Fire the band is moving beyond the release of its debut EP. Fire is a tight rock song with a lot echo/delay on the guitars giving the song depth and spaciousness. Marathon indeed is on fire in this song. The band brings across a lot of energy, as it seems to have enough to share. I remember seeing the band live, some years ago, and remarking that if they want to maintain this level of energy on stage, the members would have to hit the gym or start running. Fire underscores this observation as this song will call on the bandmembers' reserves. The 1980s are all over Fire with the attitude of the latest generation of postpunk bands. Marathon fits in quite nicely with this lot, while maintaining its own angle in the sub genre.

Permanent Vacation. Tamar Berk

Daydreaming is free and Tamar Berk is leading the way for us. She is dreaming of escaping forever and leave for a permanent vacation. The fourth single of her album 'Tiny Injuries', yes, I know I'm breaking one of my own rules, writing about a single after the album's release, is an extremely pleasant affair. Happy sounding instruments jump at me from all sides. Happy sounds that go straight into the lyrics that tell about wanting to escape the present situation, including panic attacks. Dreaming of elysian fields usual works for a while and provides the energy to continue, just like a song like Permanent Vacation does. It provides extremely pleasant leisure time, focusing on it for a while. Next stop, tackling that difficult encounter while I'm filled with Permanent Vacation induced relaxation. Thank you, Tamar.

Aretha Franklin. The Sleeveens

People are never too old to release their first single. The members of The Sleeveens are around for some time judging their faces and postures. Luckily they're not too old to release a nice punky single called Aretha Franklin. Three chords and the truth suffices here. The Sleeveens have listened to The Ramones and decided to not play that tight.This only ads to the fun. The stop-starts in the song work really well. Everytime the song stops, I prick up my ears, but here we go already again. The Nashville band's, in part by way of Ireland, members have been in all sorts of other bands through the years but decided to work together as The Sleeveens, an Irish word for trixter. Except the self-titled album on 9 February.

Tarkovski. Bodega

Bodega is a new name for me. As the band signed to the Chrysalis label for its third record, it must be me who is running behind. Of course, it's impossible to keep track of all music released. With Tarkovski I have been brought up to speed on Bodega. Tarkovski?, wasn't that a film director from the Soviet Union? What he has to do with the song as such, is unclear to me. Fact is, Tarkovski has a guitar riff that goes on and on in at least half of the song, to the point that it becomes almost irritating but is impossible to ignore. Musically I would place the single in the 1990s where the mood is concerned. Alternative but with a sound knowledge of pop elements that usually make songs more interesting. In just one song a lot of influences come together without ever becoming too much. Bodega does this very well. Tarkovski's a nice single. The album will be out on 12 April. 'Our Brand Could Be Yr Life', it's called.

Cheap. Grazia

Another debut single this week. Duo Grazia, Heather Dunlop and Lindsay Corstorphine, do not mind adding an instrument here and there it can never play live on stage as a duo. Cheap is a punky rock song, where the drums go for it regularly, while the rest keeps the tempo for it. Dunlop sings with an attitude as if the world can be stolen as far as she's concerned. It is the instruments that underscore the drive for being alive in the here and now. I love that riff that goes on and on and on in the background. The lead guitar, the lead drums, the organ they all spell intense fun and yes, again, energy. Grazia releases a superb first single. One that makes me so curious for its EP that is released on 2 February. This song is one big race and leaves you breathless but totally satisfied.

Right Back To It. Waxahatchee

Waxahatchee is Erwin Zijleman territory on this blog. Yet, I want to write about this single. It is country, alt.Americana in a new.Americana jacket. The banjo, played by Phil Cook, gives the song its fully authentic flavour. Slowly the song progresses, just like the boat on the swamp in the video does. It glides over the water and just like that this song seems to float on the water. Wednesday's MJ Lenderman plays a, large, supportive role, playing the lead guitar and singing harmony vocals in the choruses. The world has to be patient until 22 March, before Waxahatchee's new album 'Tiger Blood' will be released. If Right Back To It is the standard set, 'Tiger Blood' may be an album to be on the watch out for. This single is leisure itself.

Soo All The Way. Canyons and Locusts

Some true up and down punk alternative rock in the way it is coming out of the U.S. for decades. Let's say the 1980s. Canyons and Locusts ram it out in just a little more than two minutes. Soo All The Way is a laurel for Canadian town Sault Ste Marie, a place where the coolest people live, according to Justin Keane, who is half of this duo. Together with drummer Amy Young, Boston and Phoenix residents respectively, Keane does not take half measures to commemorate the Canadian city. Where the previous single 'To Art Bell' was a musically varied affair, the duo all but flies out of the bend in the road here. Anyone in the mood for some uncomplicated headbanging knows where to go now.

Power Lines. Rose Alaimo

Rose Alaimo rocks in the way many girls from the U.S. have done for decades. The Bangles, The Go-Go's and what not. Just add a little more distorted guitar to be tougher, totally take it away in the second half of the song and become an "eternal flame", but not for too long. In Power Lines Alaimo plays with the listener and takes him/her through a few experiences. On the album I'm somewhere in between sort of the whole time and never truly find my way. With Power Lines it is not that much different. Rose Alaimo really rocks in a great way, but why be a Bangle in the, long, interlude? The song is nice though, so it deserves a spot this week.

Ithaca, NY, is where Rose Alaimo is from. It is the town where I nearly fell from my feet, after turning around to the sound of "Do you guys want another beer"? The prettiest girl I've ever seen was standing in front of me. We met the next day and then I left for a huge roadtrip through the U.S. and went home to graduate. How are you today, Penny Jo?

Rabenschwartz. Anja Huwe

Anja Huwe over 40 years ago was the singer of a German punk band called XMal Deutschland. Its early singles are seeing a re-release on 8 March on the same day that Huwe makes a comeback after decades in musical hibernation. Called back into the studio by her old-time friend Mona Mur, the two strated working on a new album. 'Codes' will be released on 8 March as well. If this single is anything to go by, the album will be as exciting as it is relentless. Rabenschwartz has a huge, almost industrial sound, with huge guitar work by Manuela Rickers. Rabenschwartz is like a ray of lighting striking me. My hair is on end, my everything charged beyond the max. Yes, this has been done before, but as a comeback single after decades of not being in music, this is remarkable. At an age where most people are thinking of retiring Anja Huwe decides to start all over again and go for it. Good for her.

Wout de Natris

 

SUCKER. IAN SWEET

Ik had tot voor kort nog nooit van IAN SWEET gehoord, maar de band rond de Amerikaanse muzikante Jilian Medford levert met haar vierde album SUCKER een even aanstekelijke als eigenzinnige popparel af.

Ik heb de laatste tijd zoveel popalbums beluisterd en bejubeld dat ik er van uit ging dat de koek van 2023 zo langzamerhand op was, maar SUCKER van IAN SWEET mengde zich alsnog in de strijd om de betere popalbums van het jaar. Het knappe van het vierde album van de band rond de Amerikaanse muzikante Jilian Medford is dat het enerzijds vol gaat voor de aanstekelijke pop, maar anderzijds nergens vervalt in wat eendimensionale songs. De zang van Jilian Medford is aangenaam, maar heeft ook iets onderkoelds en ook in muzikaal opzicht is een wat stekelige wending nooit ver weg. Het komt allemaal samen in songs die direct genadeloos verleiden, maar die ook razend knap in elkaar zitten

SUCKER (alleen hoofdletters) is al het vierde album van IAN SWEET (ook alleen hoofdletters), maar het is mijn eerste kennismaking met het project van de Amerikaanse muzikante Jilian Medford. Het is een kennismaking die me uitstekend is bevallen, want SUCKER is een album vol bijzonder aanstekelijke popsongs, maar het zijn ook popsongs die durven te experimenteren en die de fantasie prikkelen en dat is een bijzondere combinatie.

Jilian Medford begon met IAN SWEET toen ze nog studeerde aan het prestigieuze Berklee College of Music in Boston, maar het soloproject groeide uit tot een band toen ze Boston had verruild voor Brooklyn, New York. Met Shapeshifter uit 2016, Crush Crusher uit 2018 en Show Me How You Disappear uit 2021 maakte IAN SWEET drie albums die ik absoluut opgepikt zou hebben wanneer ik ze was tegengekomen, maar op een of andere manier heb ik ze allemaal gemist.

Het zijn albums waarop Jilian Medford en haar medemuzikanten in eerste instantie vooral kozen voor wat stekelige indierock, maar met name op Show Me How You Disappear doken ook wat meer invloeden uit de indiepop op. De eerste drie albums van IAN SWEET ga ik de komende tijd zeker vaker beluisteren, maar het deze week verschenen SUCKER is vooralsnog mijn favoriete album van de Amerikaanse band.

Op SUCKER slaat de balans wat of zelfs flink door in de richting van de pop en het is pop van het aanstekelijke en hitgevoelige soort. Het betekent overigens niet dat Jilian Medford haar voorkeur voor indierock en indiepop opeens is kwijtgeraakt, want de songs op SUCKER hebben twee kanten. Aan de ene kant zijn er de aanstekelijke refreinen en de groots aandoende klanken die horen bij de pure popmuziek van het moment, maar aan de andere kant hebben de songs van IAN SWEET ook nog altijd iets eigenzinnigs.

Je hoort het in de muziek op het album, maar ook in de zang van Jilian Medford. De Amerikaanse muzikante zingt net zo fluisterzacht als een aantal van de gevestigde namen onder de popzangeressen van het moment, maar de zang op SUCKER heeft ook iets kwetsbaars, waardoor de songs van IAN SWEET meer op het gevoel spelen dan de gemiddelde pure popsong.

Het contrast dat je hoort in de zang op SUCKER, hoor je ook in de muziek op het album. De songs van IAN SWEET blijven stuk voor stuk direct na eerste beluistering heerlijk hangen en voorzien ook een regenachtige dag van zonnestralen, maar de muziek van Jilian Medford en haar medemuzikanten klinkt ook een stuk subtieler dan het geluid op het gemiddelde popalbum en neemt af en toe een eigenzinnige of gruizige afslag.

SUCKER vertrouwt niet op stevig aangezette elektronica of stuwende beats, maar kiest voor een redelijk ingetogen en zeer smaakvol geluid, dat is voorzien van een al even smaakvol laagje pop. Het was in 2023 dringen binnen de pure pop, onder andere door de albums van een aantal van de grote namen in het genre, maar SUCKER van IAN SWEET kan, net als het weer totaal anders klinkende maar ook weergaloze The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess van Chappel Roan, de concurrentie met de gevestigde orde makkelijk aan.

Ook liefhebbers van een meer indie pop- of rockgeluid kunnen overigens uitstekend uit de voeten met SUCKER, want ook binnen de indiepop en indierock van het moment kan het vierde album van IAN SWEET met de besten mee. Ook dit album kwam ik overigens op het spoor na een tip van Paste Magazine, zonder wie ik heel wat geweldige albums zou hebben gemist.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt SUCKER hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://iansweetmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sucker

Everyone Smiles. The Maureens

Things went quiet for quite some time where The Maureens was concerned, but the band is back with a glorious album full of exquisite pop music. Peruse the backlog of this blog and you will encounter all three previous albums of the band and a show here and there. With Everyone Smiles things are no different.

In The Netherlands in über pop there is the band Johan. Coincidentally, it's new album is slated for next week, 26 January. In my opinion the band coming closest to Johan is The Maureens. The band around singer and songwriter Hendrik Jan de Wolff masters perfect pop close to and beyond perfection. The record was recorded with Frans Hagenaars, closing the link with the Excelsior Recordings band Johan.

Enough of that band. The Maureens survived the pandemic, not in the same line-up though, and returns with an album that cannot be called anything else than a triumph. Everyone Smiles is filled with superior pop songs that easily leaves behind most of the competition, anywhere in the world. The pop level of the songs is so extremely high. The soft flowing songs are adorned with beautiful melodies and exquisite harmonies. There's not a single song on the album without these characteristics. The Maureens are on a roll and know it. The band is extremely confident in sound and presentation.

All things on this album start with The Beatles. CSN harmonies enter the mix and from there a timeline unfolds right up to 2024. The band added elements that suited it best and then presents the best of itself. With Everyone Smiles the band succeeds for the fourth time. The development it shows is in the sophistication of the songs. The quest for the perfect pop song is an ongoing endeavour.

Promo photo

Not all is smooth pop songs and balladry. The band rocks out as well, moving closer to Britpop of the 90s, with tight rhythms and rhythm guitars. The bass becomes more prominent e.g. in 'Warning Sign', with some great walking bass parts. The main part of the album consists of slower songs where the band plays around an acoustic guitar from which all is built. Delicate guitar parts, soft melodies and those vocals where all options must have been explored and found, they are on the album in abundance. Trademark The Maureens, I venture.

The quality on Everyone Smiles ought to bring the band more success than it has had so far. The new album goes well beyond the quality of the previous three, already more than good albums. All lovers of pure pop music can find songs here they will soon love once heard. The question is can it become much better in 2024? The year is fresh but the level of releases already very high and The Maureen's new album is in that list alright. Everyone Smiles is a dream of an album. I am left with another question: Has The Maureens reached the summit of perfection? Time will tell.

Wout de Natris

Je kunt Everyone Smiles hier bestellen en luisteren:

https://themaureens.bandcamp.com/album/everyone-smiles